Novell's epic-length press release for SLE11 just landed in our inboxes, and there are a few interesting points worth picking out. Read on for Novell's corporate take on the recession, Microsoft .NET, virtualisation and cloud computing...

We love a new kernel release as much as anybody. Especially when it includes a shedload of new features such as the Btrfs file system, video mode setting (to simplify interaction between X and the kernel) and a new 'no journal' mode for ext4. Oh, and full support for 4,096 CPUs -- we'll get round to building that rig later. But best of all, to highlight the plight of Tasmanian Devils in Australia, Linus has rolled in a change to the boot-up logo. For this release you won't see our favourite plucky penguin; instead, you get this little guy. Torvalds' announcement after the break.

In depth: There's a long running argument between two opposing groups of open source advocates. Does the availability of free software for a proprietary platform promote or inhibit open source adoption?

Some, such as Richard Stallman, argue that running free and open source software (FOSS) on OSes such as Microsoft's Windows or Apple's OS X gives people one less reason to switch to GNU/Linux. Others feel that the availability of free GPLed software gives people a taste of software that may be otherwise out of reach, promoting the quality and diversity of open source development.

But is there really enough cross-platform free software out there to tempt users?

We're already planning the fifth installment in our podcast series, and our open ballot topic this time is going to be that old flamewar veterans' favourite battleground: KDE and Gnome. But we're not interested in which one's best; we want to know whether it's a good thing for Linux to have two major desktops. Is it a pointless duplication of effort that confuses newbies with multiple toolkits, or does the right to choice trump all other considerations? Post your thoughts below!

Please note: if you're posting without a user account, please be sure to change Anonymous Penguin to something else. And no matter how you post, please take the time to explain your views!

Arduino is cool. It's cool because it's a tiny device - about three inches by two inches - that comes with a USB port and a programmable chip. It's cool because you can program it using a very simple programming language known as Wiring.

But most of all, it's cool because the entire reference design for the hardware is available under a Creative Commons licence, so you're free to build your own if you want to. However, that's probably a little extreme for most people, which is why you can also buy pre-built Arduino boards that are ready for action and available at very low prices.

In this tutorial, the first part of a mini-series, you'll learn all you need to get started with Arduino hardware hacking...

It's been about six weeks since we went live, and thanks to Apache log files and Google Analytics we've got a nice collection of data about the kinds of people who visit. We thought you might like to know just who comes to a Linux news and tutorials site, so let's dive into the numbers and see what we can find...

Let's get one thing straight - we're not saying that Linux isn't stable. There are Linux servers that have been running for years without a single reboot. But things are slightly different for desktop users. The problem is that we like to install things. Lots of things. In fact, you only need look at the average Linux package manager selection to see that one of the main reasons people use Linux is because there's a massive library of things to install.

And if someone hasn't developed the tools you want, then there are many users who are prepared to try and write their own. The net effect on the average Linux installation is that things will eventually start to break. It might not be in the first six months, or even the first year, but there will be a point when things start to fail. The detritus from two years of wanton package installation and compiling things from source will start to clog the smooth running of your system.

In depth: One of the main advantages of using LTSP is its cost-effectiveness. Instead of 30 mid-range computers for a classroom or office, you buy one high-end machine and 30 cheap terminals. The terminals don't even need to be new computers, as the hardware requirements are so low that old hardware can be reused instead of thrown away. When the time comes for a hardware upgrade - to cope with more resource-intensive programs, for example - only the server needs to be upgraded, with the terminals carrying on doing the same job as before.

In this tutorial we're going to show you how to install LTSP on your distro of choice, then configure thin clients to connect up to the server with the minimum of fuss.

In the seven weeks we've been running since launch, we've put up great some coding tutorials using PHP, Python, Perl, C# and Ruby, but it's easy for them to get lost in the mix. So, to help point out the best coding content we have to offer, we've just put up a new Code section - make sure you check it out!

Most of us are aware of Ruby through its modern-day Ruby on Rails incarnation, which is a framework for developing large-scale websites. This has been used on talked-about websites such as the Basecamp, Jobster and 43 Things sites and is shipped with the latest version of OS X, Leopard.

Given Ruby's very recent step into the coding limelight, it's surprising how long the language has been in development: since 1993! Created by Yukihiro Matsumoto, Ruby was first released to the world in 1995, and was designed to reduce the menial work that programmers typically have to put in. Why should we have to battle with the syntax of a language when what we want to achieve is really very simple?

Fresh in time for upcoming Ubuntu and Fedora releases, the Gnome team has sent 2.26 out into the world. Brasero, a disc burning tool, has found itself a permanent home in the desktop, while Evolution can import PST folders from Microsoft Outlook and the Empathy IM client now supports file transfers. There's also an Awesome Bar-like menu in Epiphany and a new volume control tool that supports PulseAudio. Read the release announcement after the break, and see this page for screenshots of all the lovely new features. Rock on.

Ask anyone to name a web server for Linux and they'll either mention Apache or be deliberately obtuse by picking something else. It's not that there aren't alternatives, but Apache is everywhere. The others have their advantages, often being lighter, but if you're ever going to transfer a site from your local server to a commercial one, the chances are that it'll run Apache and all your configurations will copy straight across.

Why would you want to install a web server? There are many reasons, but only one needs to apply for you to want to proceed.

You don't learn to ride a bike by reading books. No one can become a pilot by listening to someone else talk about plane journeys they've been on. Instead, we learn by doing, by trying, by failing and - most importantly - by succeeding. Because when you feel like you're winning, you get confidence in your skills and know that you can do anything.

Programming your computer is no different: it might seem hard, confusing or perhaps even boring, but it isn't. In fact, programming is hugely rewarding, because you exercise complete control over your computer. You can make it do things the way you want them to happen. And, if you're good, it can also lead to a whole new career.

This tutorial will teach you programming by making you program. Along the way you'll learn some theory, you'll learn some jargon, but most importantly you'll write your own program. More specifically, you'll write your own game. Even more specifically, you'll write your own super-cool game for Linux. Excited yet? You should be. Let's not hang around any more - it's time to get started...

We didn't hear much from the PCLinuxOS team for about 18 months -- sure, plenty of development effort was taking place behind the scenes, but with the six-monthly release schedules of Ubuntu and co. taking up all the limelight, PCLinuxOS's absence of major releases may have left many to question the distro's lifespan. Well, 2009.1 proudly arrived a week ago, and Raiden's Realm has given it a thorough going-over.

Fancy digging your fingers into a new project? Free Gamer has put together a list of 10 Linux games that deserve to be revived. Some of these games were formerly commercial projects and open sourced when the developer(s) moved on to pastures new, while others were free software from the start but fell into obscurity when the hackers behind them got bored. There's an FPS, a top-down RPG, a pinball game and more -- all waiting for some coding love.

In this episode: Jim Zemlin wants a united front for netbooks, Codeweavers starts on DirectX 10 for Linux, has Firefox been exploited, can we help people who are new to Linux, and should proprietary software be easy to install?

Are you responsible for any Linux systems that are important to the running of your business? A web server, database server or mail server, perhaps, or some edge-of-network appliance like a firewall? If so, it's important to monitor the health of these machines, and the log files are perhaps your first port of call. Log files can tell you if things are misconfigured, alert you to break-in attempts, or simply reassure you that all is well.

In this tutorial we'll begin by taking a peek inside a few log files to get a hint about the kind of stuff you'll find there: then we'll move on to examine some tools for summarising and managing the files.

We're just about to record the TuxRadar podcast #4, and this episode our Open Ballot question is: should distros make it easy for users to install proprietary codecs/drivers/apps on Linux? Please give a yes or no answer, and show your workings to get all the marks available for this question. Oh, and Anonymous Penguin, please provide a name that we can reference alongside your comment in the podcast. Gracias!